The clarion., 1887-07-20


scales, while on the other side the scales
were placed gold and silver and gems; in
deed enough were placed there to balance
the king; then, at the close Of the weigh
ing, all those treasures were thrown
among the populace. But Christ today
steps on one side the scales, and on the
other side are all the treasures of the uni
verse, and he says: "AIl are yours-au
height, all depth, all length, all breadth,
all eternity; all are yours" We don't
appreciate the promises of the Gospel.
When an aged clergyman was dying-a
man very eminent in the church-a young
theological student stood by his side, and
the aged man looked up and said to him:
"Can't you give me some comfort in my
dying hourS'' "No," said the young man;
81 can't talk to you on this subject; you
know all about it, and have known it SO
long" ''Wel," said the dying man,
'just recite to me some PROMISES The
young man thought a moment, and he
came to this promise: 1.-The blood of
Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin;'' and
the old man clapped his hands, and in mis-
dying moment said: That's Just the
promise / have been waiting for. The
blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all
sim Oh, the warmth, the grandeur,
the magnificence of the promisesi
Come also to this Gospel well, all ye
troubled. / do not suppose you have
escaped. Compare your view of this life
at Is years of age with what your view is
of it at 40, or 60, or 20. What a great
contrast of opinionl Were you right then,
OR are you right now? Two cups placed
in your hands-the one a sweet cup, the
other a sour cup. A cup of Joy and cup
of grief. Which has been Nle nearest to
ft111 l. ~
more frequently partakens What diff
ferent place Greenwood is from what
it used to be? Once it was to you
a grand city Improvement, and you went
out on the pleasure excursion, and you
ran laughingly up the mound, and you
criticised in a light way the epitaph. But
since the day when you heard the bell toll
at the gate when you went in with the
procession, it is a sad place and there is a
flood of rushing memories that suffuse the
eye and overmaster the heart. Oh you
have had trouble, trouble, trouble. God
only knows how much you have had. 1t
is a wonder you have been able
to live through it. 1t is a won
der your nervous system has not
been shattered, and your brain has not
reeled. Trouble, trouble. If / could
gather all the griefs, of all sorts, from this
great audience, and could put them in one
scroll, neither man nor angel could endure
the recitation. Well, what do you want,
Would you like to have your property
back again? NO." you say, as Chris
tian man, 81 was becoming arro-
giant, and l think that is why the
Lord took it away. l don't want
to have my property back" Well, would
you have your departed friends back
again? "No," you say, II couldn't take the
responsibility of bringing them from a
fearless realm to realm of tears.
couldn't do it." Well, then, what do you
want2 A thousand voices in the audience
cry ont; Comfort, give us comfort" For
that reason / have rolled away the stone
from the Wells mouth. Come, all ye
wounded of the flock, pursued of the
wolves, come to the fountain where the
Lords sick and bereft ones have come.
"Ah," says some one, ''you are not old
enough to understand my sorrows. You
have not been in the world as long as
have, and you can't talk to me about my
misfortunes in the time of old age.'
Well, may not have lived as long as you,
but I have been great deal among old
people, and know how they feel about
their failing health, and about their de-
parted friends, and about the loneliness
that sometimes strikes through their
souls After two persons have lived to-
gether for forty or fifty years, and one
of them is taken away, what desolationI
shall not forget the cry of the
late Rev. DIR. De Witt, Of New York,
when he stood by the open grave of his
beloved wife, and, after the obsequies had
ended, he looked down into the open place
and said: Farewell, my honored, faithful
and beloved wife. The bond that bound
us is severed. Thou art in glory, and l
am here on earth. We shall meet again.
Farewelll FAREWELL To lean on a prop
for fifty years, and then have it
break under you'll There were only
two years difference between the death
of my father and mother. After my
mothers decease, my father used to
go around as though looking for some
thing; he would often get up from one
room, without any seeming reason, and
go to another room; and then he would
take his cane and start out and some one
would say: ''Father, where are you
going?" and he would answer: 81 don's
know exactly. y.where l am going'' AL
ways looking for something. Though he
was tender hearted man, I never saw
him cry but once, and that was at the
burial of my mother. After sixty years.
living together it was hard to part. And
there are aged people today who are feel
ing just such pang as that. want to
tell them there is perfect enchant-
ment in the promises of this Cos
pei; and i come to them and
offer them my arm, or take their arm
and bring them to this Gospel Sit
down, father or mother, sit down See II
there is anything at the well for you.
Come, David, the Psalmist, have you any
thing encouraging to offer them? "Yes,'
says the Psalmist: ''They shall bring
forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat
and flourishing, to show that the Lord is
upright, he is my rock, and there is nc
unriShteousness in me-" Come, Isaiah,
have you anything to say out of your
prophecies for these aged peoples Eyes, u
says Isaiah: "Down to old age, am with
thee, and to hoary hairs will l carry
thee" Wen, If the Lord is going
TO carry you, you ought not to
worry much about your failing eyesight
and failing limbs. You get a little worried
for fear some time you will come to want,
do youg Your children and grandchildren
sometimes speak a little sharp at you be
cause of your ailments The Lord will
not speak sharp. Do you think you will
come to want? Who do you think the
Lord is? Are his granaries empty? VIII
he feed the raven, and the rabbit, and the
lion in the desert, and forget you? Why,
naturalists tell us that the porpoise viii
not forsake its wounded and sick mate.
And do You suppose the Lord Of heaven
and earth has not as much sympathy as
the fish of the scar But you say: Il am
so near worn out, and am of no use to
God any more" T" / think the Lord knows
whether you are of any more use or not;
If you were of no more use he would have
taken you before this. Do you think God
has forgotten you because he has taken
care of you seventy or eighty yearse He
thinks more of you today than he ever
did, Because you think more of him. Nav
the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, and Paul the aged, be your God
foreverl stA IS
But gather all the promises today In a
group, and l ask the shepherds to drive
their fiocks of lambs and sheep up to the
sparkling supply. Behold, happy is the
man whom God correcteth-'' Though
he cause grief, yet will he have compass
sion Many are the Affections of the
righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out
Oh them all Weeping may endure for
q night, but joy cometh in the morning. ;,
am determined this morning that no one
snau go out of this house uncontrolled.
fonoer Is a timid and shrinking soul who
seems to hide away from the consultations
am uttering, as child with sore hand
hides away from the physician lest he
touch the wound too roughly, and the
mother has to go and compel the little
patient to come ont and see the physician.
SO come to your timid and shrinking
soul today and compel you to come out in
the presence OF the Divine Physician. He
VIII not hurt you He has been healing
wounds Tor many years, and he viii give
yon gentle and omnipotent medicament-
But people, when they have trouble.
60 anywhere rather than to God.
DeQuincy took opium to get nd